We gave the keys to our rental flat back on Sat (technically didn't have to be out until the Sunday) We've been in our new place since the start of the month so it's been empty to allow us to clean.
Anyway, the letting agents did their inventory check out on Tuesday and we've just had an email through stating that the landlady has asked for professional cleaners to be brought in to deal with the issues in the report (see below) and that if we're happy to take it out of the deposit to let them know. I'm not going to quibble over what I think are very minor issues some of which aren't even us but my issue is that they haven't said how much they what to deduct. The carpets have all been professionally cleaned as per the tenancy agreement. The report is loooooong but I've copied and pasted to show their wording:
The detailed report is as follows:
Entrance Hall:
The floor would benefit from mopping to remove prints from footwear.
Lounge:
The walls are very slightly scuffed at low level.
The skirting boards are a little dusty, especially beneath the radiators.
The white curtains are of slightly soiled appearance with a number of very small dot marks in a line on one curtain.
Bathroom:
The sanitary ware (especially behind the WC) could be slightly cleaner.
The mirrored door to the cabinet could be slightly cleaner.
There are some oval deposits/marks on the tiled window sill, probably from the bottom of plastic soap bottles etc.
Bedroom One:
The drawers are a little dusty within and some human hair is present.
The mirror to the dressing table could be slightly cleaner. There are four small sticky marks to the top left corner where a sticker may have been applied and removed.
One of the bulbs in the recess above the bed is not working.
There is a sizable darkish mark just to the front right of the dressing table. This seems not to have been removable during the cleaning process. Some other slight marks were noted.
Bedroom Two:
A further bulb in the four spot fitting has failed, making two in total. The fitting is a little dusty.
Kitchen:
A screw appears to have been added to the wall above the radiator.
Only three of the four window lock keys were present (they all appear to be the same profile so the loss of one has little/no impact).
The sides of the dishwasher door that are not subject to the washing action could be cleaner.
The glass door to the oven could be cleaner.
The top of the extractor hood is a little greasy and dusty.
A round glass wall clock appears to have been left together with three GU10 type light bulbs in a box.
There are some light liquid spill marks to some of the cupboard doors.
The external wooden door to the integrated washing machine is not aligned correctly. The hinges appear to have been changed at some point.
The skirting boards are a little dusty in places.
The vinyl flooring has light debris in some of the corners.
We left that flat having cleaned it from top to bottom. I'd agree with the stain on the carpet and oven door which I couldn't shift but deny the rest. Especially footprints in the hall. The carpet cleaner was in before the checkout and presumably it was him the left the footprints cos they weren't there when we left. He also didn't put the alarm on which is being blamed on us!
I've emailed and asked for an exact breakdown of what they want to deduct. There is no set standard for cleanliness in the tenancy agreement it just says deposit can be used to cover cleaning costs. Considering it says at the beginning of the report that the flat is a generally clean state and they say things 'could be cleaner' surely that's subjective?
If he comes back with a set price we can agree on we'll pay to avoid the hassle but if not I will fight them. I am not agreeing to pay an unspecified amount for a job I don't believe needs doing. Any advice?
AIBU?
Letting agent trying to deduct for professional cleaning
ShoeEatingMonster · 03/08/2016 15:30
I've been hunting and can't find a copy of the initial inventory. I have a feeling we had to sign it and send it back. I will ask for a copy but I suspect it will say everything was clean or not mention the cleanliness at all.
There is no way the place was professionally cleaned before we moved in. If they can produce the receipt saying it was then I'll happily pay. I know they won't 
as the landlord isn't entitled to betterment I think that's the argument we are going to go with.
We've gone above by cleaning the carpets professionally when they were covered in dog hair when we moved in and hadn't been professionally cleaned.
I've emailed him asking for a breakdown of costs. No word yet.
I've got photos I took when we moved out but nothing up close enough to see dust on skirting boards!
To the poster that asked we did most of the cleaning a week before we moved out but came back to do the floors just before we gave the keys back.
We think they might be trying it on. We had a disagreement with this guy when they asked us to give the keys back 3 weeks before the end of out tenancy as they knew we had moved out and LL wanted to decorate ready for the next tenant so they could move in earlier. This would have meant us rushing to clean and we wanted something back in return seeing as she'd be getting double rent ie not having to pay for the carpet cleaner or getting refund of rent. They refused and this particular guy sent a really arsey email outlining all of our contractual agreements blah blah. Anyway we refused to give the keys back early. His email about the deposit was much more friendly in nature and almost more of a suggestion. Knowing this guy if he thought he had one over us his email would have been firmer.
Sorry that was a bit of a ramble 
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